Corn planting machine having rotary ground-engaging seed reservoirs



Oct. 6, 1953 T. A. PURVIS CORN PLANTING MACHINE HAVING ROTARY GROUND-ENGAGING SEED RESERVOIRS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1949 .5 M W MP W Ay Zl W WMMMQ m/ T B Oct. 6, 1953 Filed July 25, 1949 g I I 1 I i T. A. CORN PLANTING MA GROUND ENGAGING #E-Eii/ PURVIS 2,654,510

HAVING ROTARY D RESERVOIRS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l-lllllll IINVENTOR. Thomas A. Purl/B i 'atented bet. 6

c'eiav rms rme'mcnmnnaviive aoma GRQUND ENGKGQN G SEED RESERVOTRS irivention re'rates tolnew and useful im"- pmvemerits in icornaplaiiting'imachines, rand Zhas "particular refe'rence z to 'corn p'lanti-ng m'aohines of the type' adapte'd t" plant corn in even ly spaced hill's.

The iprincipal oldj'edt of 'the :pnesent invention as ahe provis'ian of' axiom planter supported Iby moiww ground-engaging wh'ee'ls each serving-as a fires'ervoir for seed grain, :andmavin'g f means for tiiseharging said grain iat mtervalsfthrough apertures-m me T-ims of' -saiii wheels.

smother ob'je'c't is the provision, in 1a 'co'rn planter of -the'class described, o'fi'me'ans for closthe apertures iHthBS-I im S-Of :the wheels, an'd means operable by the rotation of said iwhe'els for opening said apertures a't Tpredtermined Points in the' rotaltion f :the wheels, whereby grain is disc'h'arged ir'cm sa'id wheels.

A further object ='is' the provision of Ia col-n plante'r 0f the class described wherein thewheel tieads-are so :shaped as to oover th'eise'eds dropped Ftherefrom and to L'pack "the' earth: thereabout.

''Other objects are simplicity ::-and -economy .of construction, :iiependability for operation, :adaptability to plantvarious typesfof seedsgand adaptaliility to function a's "a -nhe'ckrow izplanter.

with i-theseiob'jedts:in view, as well i'as other obit-acts which -='wil1 .o'ccur :in the :course 401 the specification; reference will :be :haditb :the draw-- iiig, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side :ele'vation-iof la worn eplantmachine embodying ithe @p'resent .s-in-vention.

Fig. 2 is aplan view :of :theimachine.

Fig. 3 i's'an enlargedffragmentaifysection taken d'n line III-:III of Fig. '2.

Fig. :4 :is an enlarged "section :taken on line OfFlg'J-Z.

Fig. 5- is'anenlargedfragmentary sectionrtaken on: line .V-rV of Fig-4, :partially broken away, showing the corn dropping mechanism .its mormal 'position in solid-=lines,"and:inL'itsdropping iposition in 'dotted lines.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary-seamen'Ltaken an line VI -VIfdfFiBxB.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary section taken on line of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is af fragmentaryisseetion' taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 6.

Fig.1) is an enlarged fragmentary sectionrtaken ron line OfFig. '4, showihlg the fillingidoor open solidlines and losedlindottedf lines.

like reference numerals apfily' to sin'rilarparts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to a yoke frame having spaced apart parallel side bars 4 and 6 which are normally "22 df"thewhelis thickened at mametfi -'ca1-1y--bppositeponits to *iformr'pianar sections "4? on the inneriperipneral "surface, d'fisaidrim, said "planar setiensb'eingparani to each "ether and at riht anglesto adiamter'of Tthew'h'e'l. :"elongate'd fsli'de "bar T is carried "slidalily Jin a 'igroove 46 formed :inceaeh of planar. surfaces "2, said slides being disposed in and movablevinathe qplane' ofaotation-0f the --=Wheel. 1A -=cover plate 48 xfi-xed to surface 42 "'by any suitable ::means such as screws-"ifl' anii covers jgroove 4'6-= torretain :slide barflitherein. 'isaidrcove'r' plate 'has asho-le '5'2 termed hereincdirectly over sli'de xbar fl. 11616" at fdi ine'd through "'im 'zz ef the wheel. 'saiii" 1161e s-1itending*fioiifithia oalie of groove 46 and extending through the outer concave surface of said rim. Hole 54 is out of registry with hole 52. A hole 56 is formed through slide bar 44 and is adapted by the sliding movement of said slide bar in groove 46 to be moved from a position in registry with hole 52 of cover plate 48, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 5, to a position in registry with hole 54 in the rim. as shown in dotted lines.

Slide bar 44 is operated by a pin 58 fixed in said slide bar intermediate its ends, and extending outwardly through a slot 60 formed in cover plate 48, said slot being elongated in the direction of travel of the slide bar. A lever 62 overlying the outer surface of cover plate 48 and disposed transversely to slide bar 44, is pivotally attached at one end to rim surface 42 at 64, and is provided at its opposite end with a planar head 66 which projects outwardly through a slot 68 formed in side wall H! of the wheel, said slot being parallel to slide bar 44. Intermediate its ends, lever 62 is provided with an elongated slot 16 for engaging the extended end portion of pin 58. Lever 62 is normally held resiliently at approximately the center point of its pivotal movement as shown in solid lines in Fig. 5, with hole 56 of the slide bar registered with hole 52 of the cover plate, by means of two springs l2. Said springs are each secured at one end to pins 14 fixed in head 66, extend in opposite directions from said head, and are secured at their outer ends to pins 14 fixed in rim 22.

Levers 62 of the planting mechanisms of each wheel are operated by a roller 16 carried for rotation on a rod 18 fixed to the adjacent side bar 4 or 6 of yoke frame 2. Said rollers are rotatable about axes substantially radial to the wheels, and are disposed to lie within the circular path of the portions of heads 66 of levers 62 which project outwardly from side walls It of the wheels. Said lever heads each are formed to present a shoulder 86 for engaging said rollers.

In operation, after the reservoir chambers 26 of the wheels I4 have been filled with seed corn as previously described, the planting machine is pulled forwardly by means of tongue 8. The wheels then rotate in contact with the ground, and as each slide bar mechanism passes below the lever of the grain in the reservoir, a quantity of grain will pass through hole 52 in cover plate 48 and will enter hole 56 in slide bar 44. The thickness of said slide bar, and the dimensions of hole 56, may be so proportioned that said hole will contain the correct number of kernels of corn to plant one 'hill. As the wheel rotates further, head 66 of lever 62 contacts operating roller 16, and is thereby pivoted to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. Said lever, by means of pin 58 moves slide bar 44 so that hole 56 therein moves out of registry with hole 52 in the cover plate 48, and into registry with hole 54 in the wheel rim 22. The kernels of corn contained in hole 56 of the slide bar then pass by gravity through hole 54 of the rim and fall to the ground. As soon as lever head 66 passes under roller 16, lever 62, is returned to its normal position by springs 12, and a new charge of grain is received in hole 56 of the slide bar through hole 52 of cover plate 48. 7

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, roller 15 is so disposed that the charge of grain is dropped to the ground just ahead of the point at which the wheel contacts the ground, and directly in the path of the wheel. As the wheel passes over the grain, the concave surface 24 of the wheel tread forces earth toward the center of the tread to cover the grain, and the weight of the machine packs said earth firmly about the grain. In case it is desired to back the planting machine when maneuvering it about the field, lever head 66 will of course be contacted by operating roller 16, and the lever 62 will be pivoted in the opposite direction. However, no corn will be dropped, since the rearward movement of the slide 44 moves only a blank portion of said slide over rim discharge opening 54.

Thus a planting machine having several advantages has been produced. It is very simple in construction and operation, and hence economical and not likely to get out of order. A specified amount of grain is deposited at accurately predetermined intervals, and is adequately covered and tamped. The constant agitation of the grain produced by the rotation of the wheels effectively prevents bridging over or clogging of the discharge openings by the grain. Since the spacing of the hills is very accurate and uniform, the machine is adapted for checkrow planting. The spacing of the hills-is determined by the circumferential distances between rim openings 54, and it is evident that by changing the diameter of the wheels more or fewer planting mechanisms could be built into the wheel. Likewise, although two wheels are shown in the machine as described, more wheels could be carried on' axle, II] for simultaneous planting of a greater number of rows. It is contemplated that these and many'other minor changes of construction and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. What I claim is:

In a corn planting machine having a frame carrying wheels chamberedto form seed reservoirs, and having apertures formed in the rims thereof communicating with said reservoirs, a feed control mechanism for each of said apertures comprising a cover plate carried by said wheel in spaced relation from the inner surface of said rim and having a hole formed therein out of register with said rim aperture, a slide carried'for reciprocal movement between said rim and said cover plate and having'a hole formed therethrough, resilient means securing said slide in a central position wherein the hole thereof registers with said cover plate hole, a lever operably joined to said slide and extending outwardly of said wheel generally parallel to the axis thereof, and an operating member fixed to said frame within the path of the projection portion of said lever, said operating member being adapted to engage and operate said lever at one point in the rotation of said wheel, whereby as said planting machine travels forwardly, said lever moves said slide to move the slide and rim apertures into registry, and whereby as said planting machine travels rearwardly, said lever moves said slide to move the slide and rim apertures still further out of registry.

THOMAS A. PURVIS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 99,792 Simonton Feb. 14, 1870 264,743 North Sept. 19, 1882 461,708 Pirkle Oct. 20', 1891 939,635 Roos Nov. 9, 1909 

